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Joy Comes in the Morning
Deborah Green is a woman of passionate contradictions--a rabbi who craves goodness and surety while wrestling with her own desires and with the sorrow and pain she sees around her. Her life changes when she visits the hospital room of Henry Friedman, an older man who has attempted suicide. His parents were murdered in the Holocaust when he was a child, and all his life he's struggled with difficult questions. Deborah's encounter with Henry and his family draws her into a world of tragedy, frailty, love, and, finally, hope.
389 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
September 8, 2014
Wow, another five-star book! I'm going to have to alter my self-image as a book-review curmudgeon, or stop reading books recommended by friends. (Who recommended this one? Whoever you are, thank you!)
This book hit me close to home, as it concerns a woman rabbi whose professional persona ricochets between providing deeply-appreciated and -valued pastoral services to her flock and deeply doubting her call. How I resonated to the scene where she is summoned to the hospital room of a child who has just died, sees the parents in deep distress, and flees before they see her, overcome by shame but unable to rise to the occasion. Or the time when a woman who has had a near-death experience tells her that NOTHING happened, and her own faith is deeply shaken. She notes repeatedly that it's the role, not the person, that people respond to, and they hear what they need to hear regardless of what she actually says to them. How well I understand.
She jokes to herself that "being a rabbi was like working for a boss that everyone hated, like collecting rent in a bad neighborhood."
Deborah Green loves her calling as a rabbi, yet she is ever questioning her call. Through a wonderful series of coincidences, she meets a man who is only nominally Jewish; as her faith comes into question, his is strengthened and moves into the center of his life. Various tragedies and ambiguities ensue, just like in real life. The book ends on another ambiguous, yet hopeful, note as a wedding ceremony takes place only shortly after a tragic death.
I strongly recommend this book to any clergy of any faith tradition, and to anyone who delights in this sentence: "His [rabinnical] predecessor had turned out to be a sex addict who screwed everything but the stained glass windows."
The author is not clergy, but he might as well be. He gets it!
This book hit me close to home, as it concerns a woman rabbi whose professional persona ricochets between providing deeply-appreciated and -valued pastoral services to her flock and deeply doubting her call. How I resonated to the scene where she is summoned to the hospital room of a child who has just died, sees the parents in deep distress, and flees before they see her, overcome by shame but unable to rise to the occasion. Or the time when a woman who has had a near-death experience tells her that NOTHING happened, and her own faith is deeply shaken. She notes repeatedly that it's the role, not the person, that people respond to, and they hear what they need to hear regardless of what she actually says to them. How well I understand.
She jokes to herself that "being a rabbi was like working for a boss that everyone hated, like collecting rent in a bad neighborhood."
Deborah Green loves her calling as a rabbi, yet she is ever questioning her call. Through a wonderful series of coincidences, she meets a man who is only nominally Jewish; as her faith comes into question, his is strengthened and moves into the center of his life. Various tragedies and ambiguities ensue, just like in real life. The book ends on another ambiguous, yet hopeful, note as a wedding ceremony takes place only shortly after a tragic death.
I strongly recommend this book to any clergy of any faith tradition, and to anyone who delights in this sentence: "His [rabinnical] predecessor had turned out to be a sex addict who screwed everything but the stained glass windows."
The author is not clergy, but he might as well be. He gets it!
March 3, 2010
It is amazing what serendipity does to expand my reading pleasure. This talking book was a shot in the dark and I really enjoyed it. I know very little about Jonathan Rosen, but this story of a contemporary woman rabbi has whet my appetite for more of his writing.
Rabbi Green has a pretty good life. She is confident in her abilities as a rabbi and she knows in her heart that God is with her. A chance encounter puts her in touch with Henry Friedman and his family. The story proceeds to tell us about how this encounter affects many people.
As I read about Rabbi Green and the Friedmans, I learned a great deal about Judaism, the relationships of these people and about faith in particular. I found Deborah Green's relationship with God to be especially uplifting and enlightening.
The reader of the book was especially good. Lorna Raver pronounced words with precision and confidence. She made the book even better.
I think I may try another of this author's books when I have time.
Rabbi Green has a pretty good life. She is confident in her abilities as a rabbi and she knows in her heart that God is with her. A chance encounter puts her in touch with Henry Friedman and his family. The story proceeds to tell us about how this encounter affects many people.
As I read about Rabbi Green and the Friedmans, I learned a great deal about Judaism, the relationships of these people and about faith in particular. I found Deborah Green's relationship with God to be especially uplifting and enlightening.
The reader of the book was especially good. Lorna Raver pronounced words with precision and confidence. She made the book even better.
I think I may try another of this author's books when I have time.
April 13, 2024
Parts of this book were so beautiful, inspiring and moving. I loved the themes of faith, culture, history and religion - but other parts were extremely hard to relate to and less enjoyable for me.
January 10, 2025
I feel like I’ve been waiting to read a book like this for a long time. Even if it was, at times, veering into “autofiction.” :P
At the turn of the 21st century, Deborah Green is a Reform rabbi who is kinda treading water. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that like many people, one element of her life (work) is pretty fulfilling, while others (relationships)…not so much.
She has this in common with Lev Friedman, with whom she shares the POV stage in this novel. Lev is doing ok with his work as a science writer and his interest in ornithology, but ever since he stood up his bride-to-be at the altar, his family’s kinda been tiptoeing around him. This comes to a head when his father, Henry, is hospitalized for his second stroke (which he himself may have contributed to with a suicide attempt.)
Lev and Deborah meet while Deborah is doing chaplaincy visits at the hospital. Their relationship starts off slowly, with baseball dates being compromised by sudden requests for Deborah to conduct funerals (which also provides some foreshadowing for future events; more lighthearted than they may appear!)
I’ve been drooling to get a perspective of Jewish religious practice from a progressive lens. I may be missing more fiction titles that are out there somewhere, but this one certainly feels the most prominent. Alas, not every moment is filled with probing the mysteries of the universe, though Deborah does try to introduce Lev to the craziness of Talmud study. :P Mostly, Deborah visits the sick, counsels couples and conducts weddings, conducts funerals, and assists with Shabbat and other observances at the synagogue where she’s employed (less depicted on the page than the other stuff.) She’s a forward, if thoughtful personality, who can be as easy to judge as any mortal. :P Rabbis aren’t saints, after all. Though it was kinda disappointing that the relationship between the synagogue clergy members were so strained. (Not at all how relations are at my own synagogue, unless I’m buying into a mass delusion!)
Lev, meanwhile, is more cautious and conservative. Rosen goes back and forth between their heads, probing their thoughts and assumptions while getting to know each other, while at the meantime keeping a firm hand on a sense of place and situation. It’s a slow-moving plot, but these weren’t just characters stuck in a white room. I was very taken with Rosen’s balancing act.
Henry is a lesser, secondary POV who, like Rosen’s father, was the sole member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust. He was put on the kindertransport to the UK. As a senior citizen he embraced more religion, and the “suicide note” he left for Lev is a major reason Lev turns to Deborah for religious guidance. (This also adds a little murkiness to their dance around personal vs theological feelings for one another.)
Henry’s boyhood friend, Neal, provides the dramatic climax to the book, for which I have mixed feelings. It’s hard to stay centered in the story when Neal is so clearly based on Michael Laudor, whom Rosen wrote about last year in his memoir, THE BEST MINDS. It almost feels like Rosen was using Neal to do some sort of therapy—maybe even a course correction—for an unrelated story.
Deborah’s real crisis came from an experience she had at the hospital, which shook her faith in God. Like one of the Orthodox characters in the novel, I’m used to dismissing supernatural belief as unimportant to Judaism, but Rosen deals with it poignantly and without overwrought fanfare. I can drool over literary fiction, too, and its ability to bring the interior lives of humans alive in small yet complicated ways.
I don’t know if Deborah is anything like Rosen’s real wife—also a Reform rabbi. I kind of hope not. I’d like Deborah to exist as a perfectly imperfect creation of the page. But no matter how much of her identity is owed to reality vs fiction, she won this Jew’s heart!
At the turn of the 21st century, Deborah Green is a Reform rabbi who is kinda treading water. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that like many people, one element of her life (work) is pretty fulfilling, while others (relationships)…not so much.
She has this in common with Lev Friedman, with whom she shares the POV stage in this novel. Lev is doing ok with his work as a science writer and his interest in ornithology, but ever since he stood up his bride-to-be at the altar, his family’s kinda been tiptoeing around him. This comes to a head when his father, Henry, is hospitalized for his second stroke (which he himself may have contributed to with a suicide attempt.)
Lev and Deborah meet while Deborah is doing chaplaincy visits at the hospital. Their relationship starts off slowly, with baseball dates being compromised by sudden requests for Deborah to conduct funerals (which also provides some foreshadowing for future events; more lighthearted than they may appear!)
I’ve been drooling to get a perspective of Jewish religious practice from a progressive lens. I may be missing more fiction titles that are out there somewhere, but this one certainly feels the most prominent. Alas, not every moment is filled with probing the mysteries of the universe, though Deborah does try to introduce Lev to the craziness of Talmud study. :P Mostly, Deborah visits the sick, counsels couples and conducts weddings, conducts funerals, and assists with Shabbat and other observances at the synagogue where she’s employed (less depicted on the page than the other stuff.) She’s a forward, if thoughtful personality, who can be as easy to judge as any mortal. :P Rabbis aren’t saints, after all. Though it was kinda disappointing that the relationship between the synagogue clergy members were so strained. (Not at all how relations are at my own synagogue, unless I’m buying into a mass delusion!)
Lev, meanwhile, is more cautious and conservative. Rosen goes back and forth between their heads, probing their thoughts and assumptions while getting to know each other, while at the meantime keeping a firm hand on a sense of place and situation. It’s a slow-moving plot, but these weren’t just characters stuck in a white room. I was very taken with Rosen’s balancing act.
Henry is a lesser, secondary POV who, like Rosen’s father, was the sole member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust. He was put on the kindertransport to the UK. As a senior citizen he embraced more religion, and the “suicide note” he left for Lev is a major reason Lev turns to Deborah for religious guidance. (This also adds a little murkiness to their dance around personal vs theological feelings for one another.)
Henry’s boyhood friend, Neal, provides the dramatic climax to the book, for which I have mixed feelings. It’s hard to stay centered in the story when Neal is so clearly based on Michael Laudor, whom Rosen wrote about last year in his memoir, THE BEST MINDS. It almost feels like Rosen was using Neal to do some sort of therapy—maybe even a course correction—for an unrelated story.
Deborah’s real crisis came from an experience she had at the hospital, which shook her faith in God. Like one of the Orthodox characters in the novel, I’m used to dismissing supernatural belief as unimportant to Judaism, but Rosen deals with it poignantly and without overwrought fanfare. I can drool over literary fiction, too, and its ability to bring the interior lives of humans alive in small yet complicated ways.
I don’t know if Deborah is anything like Rosen’s real wife—also a Reform rabbi. I kind of hope not. I’d like Deborah to exist as a perfectly imperfect creation of the page. But no matter how much of her identity is owed to reality vs fiction, she won this Jew’s heart!
February 26, 2013
I enjoyed how the author brought Judaism into the everyday life of his characters. There are so many ways to be a Jew, and this book explored some of them. It made me think about how we deal with faith, doubt, science, and the past.
December 19, 2023
The main character of this remarkable novel is a very theologically reflective female rabbi. If a book about a Christian clergy were this positively theological, it probably couldn't get published (though I guess the recent books by Elizabeth Strout & Haven Kimmel may belie this assumption). As with most good books about Jewish subjects, the Holocaust looms large in the background. This book is also another example of how good writers are treating the events of 9/11/2001 subtly rather than heavy-handedly. The book takes place over a year ending in the fall of 2000. [spoiler alert here] At that point the rabbi marries, & she & her groom plan to move to Israel. The groom's parents worry that the couple will not be safe in Israel. Meanwhile, they are happy that their other son is moving back to New York City to take a job with a financial firm with offices on the upper stories of the World Trade Center. Nothing more is said about it, but what we know as readers confirms one of the book's main themes: that life takes strange turns that don't conform to our best-laid plans. We also learn much about the importance of ritual acts even when our faith does not keep up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2016
I’m about to espouse on a topic where my expertise may be questionable, but it’s my opinion that a social phenomenon must reach a “critical mass” in everyday life and in our consciousness before you will start seeing it appear as the main subject of a novel. Along those lines, I do believe that this is one of the first, if not THE first novel about a female rabbi. (Please see other reviews for the the full story.)
Once again I am amazed at the ability of a male author to write so beautifully and authentically in the voice of a woman. I could also believe that he went through seminary and headed a congregation (he didn’t) because he is able to write so intimately about the inner thoughts and conflicts of a clergy person. And if you are reading this book and are Jewish, your heart will swell with recognition as Deborah wraps herself in her grandfather’s prayer
shawl each morning and recites her daily prayers.
Once again I am amazed at the ability of a male author to write so beautifully and authentically in the voice of a woman. I could also believe that he went through seminary and headed a congregation (he didn’t) because he is able to write so intimately about the inner thoughts and conflicts of a clergy person. And if you are reading this book and are Jewish, your heart will swell with recognition as Deborah wraps herself in her grandfather’s prayer
shawl each morning and recites her daily prayers.
September 12, 2013
Deborah and Lev, and the other more minor characters, each struggle with their doubts (personal, spiritual) and examine their conflicted relationships to religion, faith, and family. While the material is important, his literary treatment is simplistic and heavy handed. The story is plodding and morose, not artistic or uplifting. The writing is laced with references to Jewish ritual practice, liturgy and custom that are accurate--evidence that Rosen is literate and well-versed in Jewish practice.
March 2, 2018
This wasn't exactly what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. There is a very long and rich culture of the Jewish faith, and this book does not shy away from tradition, modern thoughts on that tradition, and how things mesh or don't with modern culture. From the inside out, there are insights into the mind of man and how they can conflict with the mind of God and what man believe that actually stands for.
There is a lot of pain and heartache in this book, but the drama is overshadowed by the great love and beauty that it portrays. This is worth a read.
There is a lot of pain and heartache in this book, but the drama is overshadowed by the great love and beauty that it portrays. This is worth a read.
August 26, 2010
It would seem that I should have liked this book. It should have been poignant and touching. Something should have stirred my soul. It wanted to but the those few moments got buried under a very slow paced story line, weak plot points and characters without depth. It was a sad read - not because of the story - due to the agony of trying to get through the endless parade of nothing that desperately wanted the next story turning point to be reachable.
October 30, 2014
Read for a discussion group, otherwise, I would never have looked at it.
There are no compelling characters here, just an casually interesting look at day to day life in a New York Jewish community.
These are the people described by the Apostle Paul in the first several chapters of his letter to the Romans.
The rabbi could be considered a "seeker" but the rest of the people are pretty much place keepers to keep her story moving. Written by a man, she is not a totally convincing character.
There are no compelling characters here, just an casually interesting look at day to day life in a New York Jewish community.
These are the people described by the Apostle Paul in the first several chapters of his letter to the Romans.
The rabbi could be considered a "seeker" but the rest of the people are pretty much place keepers to keep her story moving. Written by a man, she is not a totally convincing character.
Read
August 16, 2023Enjoyed it. Interesting perspective on what it is like to be a female Rabbi.
The main characters Debra and Lev were quirky but not particularly likeable.
I was prepared to like them but their behavior thwarted that: in Lev's case, lying about being a Rabbi and being married and Debra by "stealing" from Henry.
Nevertheless, the book had merit. I am glad it was written and glad I read it.
The main characters Debra and Lev were quirky but not particularly likeable.
I was prepared to like them but their behavior thwarted that: in Lev's case, lying about being a Rabbi and being married and Debra by "stealing" from Henry.
Nevertheless, the book had merit. I am glad it was written and glad I read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2024
I 'read' this book on Audible and fully appreciated the narration for the Hebrew translations and learned much about Jewish culture and tradition but do not think I could have completed the book if reading it myself. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from the narrated version and believe I am a richer person for it.
September 18, 2023
Beautifully written.
Mr Rosen writes like a poet. His prose is inspired and there's a palpable depth of feeling, from beginning to end.
Mr Rosen writes like a poet. His prose is inspired and there's a palpable depth of feeling, from beginning to end.
September 23, 2023
Review coming. I recommend this book, it was so close to being a forever recommendation.
December 26, 2025
Deborah Green is a rabbi, a modern woman with passion and desires, alongsisde her passion for her calling, her faith, her people, and her G-d. The Friedman family entert her life after just one of her random and ananymous acts of kindness towat Henry, its patriarch.
Henry is the child of Holocaust atrocities; both his parents had been mudered by the Nazi's, leaving Henry with survivor's guilt and an unending stream of unanswered questions. Why did this happen? Why did I survive? Does such a loss supercede all and any happiness, not only at present, b ut at all, extending out throught time? Could he, possibly, have the right to any happiness, even small?
Through a series of circumstances, Deborah meets Lev, one of Henry's sons, and they grow close. Deborah, later, meets Neal, a childhood friend of Lev's, and a character destined to change the lives of all who know him.
Throughout the entire story, the presence of the Lord is deeply felt. The story is engaging, enrichind, enlightening, and entertaining. I'm so glad I read Joy Comes in the Morning.
Henry is the child of Holocaust atrocities; both his parents had been mudered by the Nazi's, leaving Henry with survivor's guilt and an unending stream of unanswered questions. Why did this happen? Why did I survive? Does such a loss supercede all and any happiness, not only at present, b ut at all, extending out throught time? Could he, possibly, have the right to any happiness, even small?
Through a series of circumstances, Deborah meets Lev, one of Henry's sons, and they grow close. Deborah, later, meets Neal, a childhood friend of Lev's, and a character destined to change the lives of all who know him.
Throughout the entire story, the presence of the Lord is deeply felt. The story is engaging, enrichind, enlightening, and entertaining. I'm so glad I read Joy Comes in the Morning.
June 7, 2024
Though this is an older book, I enjoyed the Rabbi's perspective. Rabbi Deborah through her job visits an elder gentlemen in the hospital who has attempted suicide whose family (wife and 2 children) she builds a relationship with. She is trying to figure herself too. Jonathon writes often about mental health struggles.....reminded me of " The Best Minds"a bit
January 23, 2018
Three and a half stars for sure. At first it seemed like a straight-out romance book, which was NOT what I was looking for, but the second half got a lot more interesting. The story revolves around funerals and weddings and definitely hit me in an emotional spot.
December 8, 2018
This book describes my life - it might be the best novelized story of what it means to be a clergy person that I’ve ever come across.
January 15, 2022
A beautiful love story, although the main character is a bit obsessed with death. The author gives a good glimpse into the Jewish state with some beautiful, profound truths sprinkled throughout.
July 20, 2024
A female Reform Rabbi meets a man, falls in love, questions her faith just as he finds his and finally finds God, love, marriage and Israel. Enjoyed it.
January 28, 2025
Interesting story about a female Jewish Rabbi. Showed the meaning of religious ritual which played an important part in the love story
August 16, 2011
I picked this book up on a whim at the library. I'm so glad I did. Rosen has written a rich novel. It is rich in character, rich in story, rich in feeling. When I wasn't reading the book I was thinking about it and wondering what was going to happen next. I found myself thinking about the characters and relating to each of them on different levels. There are a few main characters of the book: Deborah, a female Reform Rabbi; Henry, an older gentleman who doesn't think much of life any longer; Helen, Henry's wife; Lev, Henry's youngest son. There are other supporting characters but those four are the main ones. And while the book starts out mainly just about Deborah and Henry by the end the book is about Deborah and Lev. A progression happens that is so seamless that you don't even realize it has happened. Deborah is the consistent character in the book so she may be considered the Main main character. :) As a female Reform Rabbi Deborah is warm, gentle, giving, compassionate, and sincere in her religion. Through a series of events she enters into the lives of Henry and his family who don't practice Judiasm but she stirs in them a desire to explore their cultural faith a bit more. This novel is a record of that search, particulary with Lev.
This novel has staying power, the story is meant to stay with one long after they are finished reading it. This one was so good that I am anticipating reading Rosen's other titles.
This novel has staying power, the story is meant to stay with one long after they are finished reading it. This one was so good that I am anticipating reading Rosen's other titles.
February 12, 2017
This is one of the best books I have ever read!
July 29, 2010
Rabbi Deborah Green meets Henry Friedman in the hospital, after his suicide attempt failed, then later in a nursing home, when he is recovering from a stroke. She strikes up a friendship with his son, Lev, who is a science writer with little faith. Lev is shaken by his father's suicide attempt, and is drawn to Deborah's confidence in her faith. The story goes into great detail about their doubts and their attempts to feel closer to God, but still has a light-hearted aspect. Their physical attraction to each other, as well as complications of family, friends, and career anchor the story to everyday life. There is one hilarious scene where Lev pretends to be a rabbi for a funeral, but it is balanced by a shocking tragedy, and a foreshadowing of tragedy to come.
October 27, 2014
I loved the way Rosen captured the inner life of the clergy person in action; it was exciting to see many of my own experiences so well articulated. I also appreciated Rosen's ability to depict the mental state of a stroke sufferer, and I loved the character of Henry. Unfortunately, I never grew to like or care about the two "romantic leads," Deborah and Lev. I couldn't find either one of them attractive, probably because they were so lacking in humor and self-absorbed. I loved all of the theological reflection but Deborah struck me as a bit of a diva - very talented but immature. The subplot with the mentally ill best friend seemed like a desperate attempt to add some drama into a very ordinary couple's courtship. I would have liked more Henry and less Lev and Deborah.
May 2, 2015
Interesting? Yes. Exciting? No.
This novel is a window into the personal life and self-reflection of reform rabbi Deborah Green. Her complex personality does create a compelling story for those interested in psychology, sociology, spirituality, and religion. Deborah's inner-battles are at times neurotic as she tries to build the necessary bridge's between her personal and spiritual life. She is somewhat haunted by conflict and compassion. The author's intellect is obvious as this is an academic reflection of religion and the inner-turmoil it creates especially for academics and/or intellectuals.
I listened to the unabridged audio version, although the narrator was very good and quite competent with the languages and dialect, her voice seemed a little too old and raspy.
This novel is a window into the personal life and self-reflection of reform rabbi Deborah Green. Her complex personality does create a compelling story for those interested in psychology, sociology, spirituality, and religion. Deborah's inner-battles are at times neurotic as she tries to build the necessary bridge's between her personal and spiritual life. She is somewhat haunted by conflict and compassion. The author's intellect is obvious as this is an academic reflection of religion and the inner-turmoil it creates especially for academics and/or intellectuals.
I listened to the unabridged audio version, although the narrator was very good and quite competent with the languages and dialect, her voice seemed a little too old and raspy.
March 20, 2015
The writing in this story is so seamless that I was engaged even when the plot stretched my patience a bit. The story focuses on a Reform female rabbi and the man she becomes involved with, however, it is much more than that. The man's father had a stroke and seems to struggle with coming to terms with his feelings about Judaism against the devastation of having lost his family in the Holocaust. The man's best friend had a schizophrenic breakdown. The rabbi's family isn't as religious as she is and are wary of her and her devoutness. Issues of competency and feeling a fraud play a large role in this novel. Beautifully written and a satisfying ending.
September 17, 2015
From the flap summary, I expected to learn more about a character's experience in Europe and with the Holocaust. I was disappointed in not reading more of this historical connection.
The story follows the plot line of a female rabbi in modern day New York City. I am not sure that I understood the physical attraction of Deborah and Lev nor the mental.
The author seems to try to illustrate many modern lifestyles in one novel. The female rabbi, same sex marriage ...
Since the story has a copyright date of 2004, I wonder if the reference to a character taking a job in the World Trade Center Twin Towers of NYC in 2000 is foreshadowing to events of 9/11.
The story follows the plot line of a female rabbi in modern day New York City. I am not sure that I understood the physical attraction of Deborah and Lev nor the mental.
The author seems to try to illustrate many modern lifestyles in one novel. The female rabbi, same sex marriage ...
Since the story has a copyright date of 2004, I wonder if the reference to a character taking a job in the World Trade Center Twin Towers of NYC in 2000 is foreshadowing to events of 9/11.
September 8, 2014
This novel is one of very few that show the daily life of American Jews thoughts and actions. Many of the characters are not observant, but are deeply Jewish. This is a strong point for dicussion!
It is the story of a contemporary female rabbi who falls in love. Her religious, emotional, and intellectual yearnings and embroilments are at the center of the story. The story is about tensions and resolutions between and among Jews about observance. It sparked many questions and much conversation.
Tough spots:
Some found her apparent sexual license confusing. (Merrimack Valley)
It is the story of a contemporary female rabbi who falls in love. Her religious, emotional, and intellectual yearnings and embroilments are at the center of the story. The story is about tensions and resolutions between and among Jews about observance. It sparked many questions and much conversation.
Tough spots:
Some found her apparent sexual license confusing. (Merrimack Valley)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews